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Life IS history in the making. Every word we say, everything we do becomes history the moment it is said or done. Life void of memories leaves nothing but emptiness. For those who might consider history boring, think again: It is who we are, what we do and why we are here. We are certainly individuals in our thoughts and deeds but we all germinated from seeds planted long, long ago.

Friday, November 30, 2012

TGIF & The Weekend

TGIF tgif.gif photo


While TGIF is a most familiar acronym, has this day always represented the 'end' of the work week?
[Read all the way through to see where the catchphrase originated.]
In today’s society, “weekends” are taken for granted. However, that luxury has not always been recognized. The work week was once Monday through Saturday with work, especially on farms, starting before the sun came up and not ending until sundown. Jobs 'back in the day' consisted of positions, such as  

tinker, tailor, grocer, baker, veterinarian, cobbler, weaver, iron worker, brickmaker, potter, doctor, wagon maker, carriage maker, milliner, dressmaker, cook, scullery maid, housemaid, butler, clerk, carpenter, general laborer, barrister, wagon/carriage driver, footman, builder, tin maker, priest, alms house worker, prison guard, constable, tobacconist...anything pre-industrial revolution

Up until the nineteenth century, the Sabbath was the only day regarded as a “day off” from work. Even on this day, leisure time was not solely of one's choice. This day was a day of fellowship with most of its time spent in church.
 Before TV, Nineteenth Century
  
In the early years of the century
The “weekend” positively was born
Saturday afternoons plus Sundays off
Provided relief for the forlorn
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Bustled with music and vibe
Travesty known as burlesque
Primed all senses to come alive
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Candy pull St Nicholas 1882
An occasional “candy-pull
Nut-cracking, corn-popping fun
Imbued family time with mirth
’Til apple-roasting was done
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Buffalo Bill's wild west and congress of rough riders of the world -
Circus poster showing Buffalo Bill's congress of rough riders
and Cuban insurgents in battle. c.1898
Reenactment in Wild West Shows
Captured more than an audience’s ear
Reviving an enduring spirit
Throughout the western frontier
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March 21, 1859 (chartered); July 1, 1874 (opened)
At the peak of the century
Evolved the Philadelphia Zoo
Ten to twenty-five cents admission
Brought exotic animals into view
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Marionette from Tiller family marionette company,
1870s-1890s
Paper dolls, marionettes, puppets
Tendered fun at any time
Christmas, the heart of the holidays
Pioneered Santa’s first climb
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The Jazz Singer, released October 6, 1927
At the close of the century
American theatre greatly changed
Fads, fashion, and affluence
Launched plays totally rearranged


©2012 Awakenings
Sharla Lee Shults

Ever wonder where this T.G.I.F. ("Thank God It's Friday") catchphrase originated?
Back in the early 1970s, the Akron, Ohio-based disk jockey Jerry Healy from WAKR radio station was the one who first coined that catchphrase. It later became synonymous to working people in the United States as a common expression of relief at the end of the work week and anticipation of relaxing or partying over the weekend!

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